20 Awesome Songs About Betrayal
It is said that the saddest thing about betrayal is that it does not come from enemies but from those you consider your friends. Once trust is broken, there is usually nothing left to fight for in any relationship. For creatives, the betrayal results in poems, songs, or blog posts to vent dark emotions.
Of all the songs you have heard, some tend to speak to your heart, those you can relate to personally. Perhaps one of these songs about betrayal is your go-to song whenever you feel your trust has been betrayed.
20. Leave (Get Out) by JoJo
According to Glamour, JoJo was only 12 when she recorded this song, and it was No. 12 on the billboard. She was hesitant, seeing that it was more pop than her other songs, but the singer had fun yelling in the studio. JoJo had never been in a relationship before, so she could not relate.
Still, she delivered the lyrics perfectly, telling the boy to leave. She knew about the other girl he was dating despite the lies he had been telling her.
19. How Could You Bring Him Home by Eamon
This was the only single from Eamon’s album “Love & Pain” and from the title, you can easily tell that the singer felt betrayed. The lyrics are about a man eager to get home to his partner because he misses her. Unfortunately, the surprise does not go as planned because he finds her with another guy in his house.
It appears Eamon found them making love on the floor and the singer lost his temper and killed the guy. Eamon feels the pain of betrayal because he missed out on other girls to be with the one who wound up cheating on him.
18. How Could You by Mario
Mario is betrayed by the girl he did everything for; he says when he first met the girl, she had nothing but he transformed her and bought expensive gifts for her. However, the girl did not reciprocate the love, even going as far as forgetting his birthdays and cheating on him.
It was such a disappointment because he even wanted to marry the girl. After finding out about the infidelity, he has to kick her out of his house. Regardless, the pain in his heart is too much to bear, thinking that his “soulmate” will make another man happy.
17. Bed Of Lies by Nicki Minaj and Skylar Grey
Although Minaj does not reveal who or what inspired the song, most people believe it was after a relationship with Samuel Safaree went bad. According to Bustle, the two had dated for a decade and were even spotted vacationing in Cabo San Lucas days after Minaj posted about her 10th anniversary with someone special.
Safaree even had a tattoo of the singer’s face on his chest. Unfortunately, shortly after, Minaj released this song talking about a man that used her for her stardom. She housed a man who never paid any bills, and he took advantage of her social network to get ahead in life.
16. Reckless by Madison Beer
Beer said she penned the song in October 2020 and warned people to always listen to their gut. The singer advised that if someone tells you not to worry about a person you know in your heart you should, you should get out of that relationship.
She even says in her song that the guy and the girl she was not supposed to worry about always left her out, and he would be spotted with the other girl. He had promised never to hurt Beer, but the promise was broken. The guy ends up loving the other girl, but Beer comforts herself that at least he loved her first.
15. I Don’t Ever Want To See You Again by Uncle Sam
Well, sometimes the people we trust end up breaking our hearts, and Uncle Sam had to find out through a letter that his girl was cheating on him with his best friend. He says he never wants to see her again and wants to move on because he never thought he would ever have to share his love with another man.
The shock is that of all the people, she chose his best friend. So, he realizes that all along his friend was his enemy. It is such a beautiful song from Uncle Sam’s debut album produced by Boyz II Men; it even peaked at No. 2 on the R&B chart and No.6 on Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1997.
14. Over You by Daughtry
Daughtry launched a career after finishing fourth in season 5 of “American Idol.” Among his greatest releases is “Over You,” talking about how the girl he loved built him up only to tear him down. He figuratively says she took a hammer and destroyed the walls, so he feels like an abandoned house.
The breaking-up scene was worse because the girl said words that hurt him to the core. Thankfully, he has found the strength to move on and start rebuilding his life after realizing that he is much better off without her.
13. Friend of Mine by Kelly Price Featuring Ronald Isley and R. Kelly
Price told Hello Beautiful that she sent the song to Kelly who was immediately taken in by the lyrics. He told her to get to Chicago as soon as possible, but they also needed Isley. Kelly considered the song a masterpiece and treated it as such from the moment the musicians walked through the door of the recording studio. The “I Believe I Can Fly” hitmaker even created the right ambiance for the song’s recording and it wound up being nominated for a Grammy. In the song, Price is betrayed by her friend, who sleeps with Price’s boyfriend.
12. Before He Cheats by Carrie Underwood
Chris Tompkins sat at his computer and typed the lyrics for this song, hoping that it would be the next Gretchen Wilson hit after “Redneck Woman.” After writing the first verse’s two lines, he asked Josh Kear for his insight and together they came up with the rest of the lyrics.
However, Underwood ended up recording the song, though at the time Kears had no idea who the country musician was. Still, they believed it would be a huge hit by the “American Idol” winner of the series’ fourth season. Underwood had heard the song during her “American Idol” tour and wanted to record it.
11. You Give Love A Bad Name by Bon Jovi
Desmond Child co-wrote the lyrics of the song with Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora thanks to a suggestion by Paul Stanley, KISS frontman. Child already had the title of the next song he wanted to write: “You Give Love a Bad Name.”
The three men quickly agreed that it was perfect and immediately went to work on the music. Child revealed to The Tennessean that they had chemistry which made writing effortless. It talks about being taken in by a girl’s angelic smiles and looks, but she puts the guy through hell.
10. Say My Name by Destiny’s Child
At times, the betrayal does not even happen. However, a person could have an instinct that the partner is fooling around. Well, this is the song that talks about such feelings of betrayal, and it was inspired by a relationship LaShawn Daniels had experienced. He was dating a girl who would get suspicious if she heard other people in the background.
So the girl would tell Daniels to say her name and that he loved her. People going through what the girl was feeling and the pressure Daniels underwent related to the song.
9. Jar of Hearts by Christian Perri
Perris disclosed that all her songs are based on her life. This one was about an ex-lover who had been hurting her, but she rekindled the relationship. Finally, when she had enough, she called it quits and penned this song about the man who was a collector of hearts, as he went about breaking them.
The song would have probably never seen the light of day were it not for Perri’s friend, who passed it on to “So You Think You Can Dance” for choreography purposes. It received the right airplay, and before she knew it, Perri was signed to Atlantic Records.
8. Irreplaceable by Beyoncé
Ne-Yo outdid himself with this song which he co-wrote with Stargate. He wanted to push himself to new limits and therefore incorporated hip-hop into country music. The experimentation worked and although it was intended to be for a country singer, allegedly Shania Twain, Beyonce heard the song, fell in love with it, and wanted it for herself.
It talks about kicking a man out of the house after finding out he had been cheating. He thinks he is irreplaceable and the girl can put up with him, but she reminds him she can have another man in a minute.
7. Apologize by Timbaland Featuring OneRepublic
Ryan Tedder spoke to Digital Spy, revealing that he wrote the song while still living in his father’s house. He felt betrayed by love because all the girls he had relationships with kept dumping him. The songwriter said he was the nice guy who kept finishing last, but strangely, even after dumping him, the girls would return to try and rekindle the romance.
Teddy got tired of always being the nice guy being taken advantage of and decided he was no longer ready to welcome them back, it was too late to apologize.
6. Unfaithful by Rihanna
It is yet another of Ne-Yo’s masterpieces previously titled “Murderer” but changed to “unfaithful.” Rihanna disclosed that it was based on a relationship she had when she was 14, although she clarified it was not physical. The songstress said that as much as guys cheat, women cheat too, and the song puts this reality into perspective. She sings that she is unfaithful, betraying the man she loves, and he knows of the infidelity which hurts him and kills him a little every day.
5. Cry Me A River by Justin Timberlake
After a relationship with Britney Spears went sour, Timberlake sang this song to let go of his frustrations following Spears’ rumored infidelity. It all began with a phone call Timberlake had made to Spears. He was furious and wanted to release his pent-up anger with a song. Thus “Cry Me A River” came to be. The video ensured he had a girl who resembled his ex. Since he did not want anyone coming out of the scenario looking like an angel, he also films himself making out with another woman.
4. Take A Bow by Rihanna
Most people find it funny that Chris Brown wrote the song when the two dated only for the relationship to go south when Brown became violent. The song appeared to be like an epiphany as Rihanna says he will not forgive her partner, who has mastered the art of telling lies and pretending to change his ways. She had been very forgiving of all that the guy had put her through, falling for the mask he had been wearing, but once it fell off, she was not taking him back.
3. Without Me by Halsey
Halsey started writing music at 17, but this is the first of her singles to ever top the Billboard 100 chart. She cried the entire time while recording it because it came from a place of hurt and betrayal. Her break-up with G-Eazy inspired the lyrics because she felt the only way to release her pain was through song. She said the song is about caring is much for others until you lose yourself. She had given it her all when it came to G-Eazy, putting up with his addiction, but once he was much better he discarded her.
2. Bad Blood by Taylor Swift Featuring Kendrick Lamar
This song deviates from Swift’s usual songs about boys and instead talks about a frenemy. She said that for years she was unsure about the female artist who would come up to her and say something that left Swift wondering if they were friends. She said the supposed “friend” tried sabotaging her entire arena tour leaving most people to conclude that it must have been Katy Perry who inspired “Bad Blood.” Swift finally realizes that Perry is not her friend and there is bad blood between them
1. Rolling In The Deep by Adele
Adele made history when this song won three Grammy awards, making it the only second song to ever do so after “We Are The World.” She talks about the guy having her heart but instead of treasuring it he plays with it. She said it was about a relationship she was tired of when the guy said Adele’s life would be boring without him. The singer thought the guy would always have her back but he turned out not to have her best interests at heart.
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